Your Fat Friend

2024 1h 34m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

★7.4TMDB · 10

Documentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Charting Aubrey Gordon's journey from anonymous blogger to NY Times bestselling author and podcast host, and the complexities of making change. It’s a film about fatness, family and the deep, messy feelings all of us hold about our bodies.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Aubrey Gordon
Self

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jeanie Finlay
Writers: Jeanie Finlay
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 2 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

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International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jeanie Finlay, shot by Stewart Copeland. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Alice Powell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt27550024 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 10 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jeanie Finlay directs. Stewart Copeland behind the camera. Alice Powell cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 2 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Directed by Jeanie Finlay, shot by Stewart Copeland. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Alice Powell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6IMDB entry: tt27550024 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 10 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Stewart Copeland
Editing: Alice Powell
Runtime: 94 min · 1h 34m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Your Fat Friend (2024)

Also by

Jeanie Finlay

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Brent Marchant2024-05-25
★ 7/10
They say you can never truly understand what it’s like to feel what someone else experiences until you’ve walked a mile in his or her shoes. That’s often been said about many of those in minority communities, and, thankfully, some progress in understanding appears to have been made in those cases over the years. But one segment of society in which little advancement has been made involves those who are appreciably bigger than many in the mainstream (i.e., those who are fat). For some reason, fat folks continue to be systematically marginalized – if not outright derided – in countless ways, and there’s often been little that they can do about these pervasive attacks. Now, however, writer-director Jeanie Finlay’s new documentary profile of author/podcaster/fat activist Aubrey Gordon sheds new light on what individuals affected by this condition face on a daily basis. This includes the persistent lack of meaningful accommodations in areas like effective health care, transportation and garment manufacturing, not to mention the ignorant, cruel, short-sighted and insensitive comments made by others, including those who mistakenly think they’re operating from a standpoint of good intentions. The film explores Gordon’s journey from an anonymous (and devastatingly ridiculed) blogger to best-selling author who came out of the closet about her weight circumstances and made public the often-overlooked anguish experienced by people of size. The film holds back little in terms of exposing the unbridled scorn thrust upon her and those who are similarly situated, while simultaneously celebrating the overflowing shower of support bestowed on her by others like her who now feel that there’s someone in their camp to make their feelings and the truth of their circumstances known. The picture also goes on the record exposing the many myths and lies that have been long perpetuated about fat people and the volumes of bad, uninformed advice they have received for decades, particularly from the medical community, many of whose members don’t have a clue when it comes to what they’re talking about. Admittedly, the material covered in the film could be a little better organized at times, especially when it turns redundant, as it does on several occasions. There is also a fair amount of unrelated incidental footage that probably could have been cut without losing much. However, this offering provides a wealth of information on the widely circulated misinformation about fatness, and, as anyone who has endured these conditions – like me, in the interest of full disclosure – can attest, it’s refreshing and liberating to see an advocate step forward who is not afraid to call out those who are hurtful, ignorant and deceitful when it comes to this subject. “Your Fat Friend” draws all of these issues into focus and delivers a polite but undeniably pointed middle finger to those who perpetuate misguided attitudes and ideas that ultimately serve no one – yet end up unintentionally or deliberately hurting so many.

Production companies